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Iwata asks: Motion Plus
elkatas
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Latest Iwata Asks is now up, and it is about MotionPlus. During the first part, Iwata discusses about development with hardware team, and all the problems they faced. Some selected parts:
Source
I really like hardware development interviews more than software ones.
Connection problems wrote:Takamoto
Moreover, they hadn't envisaged that the area where the devices were connected would be gripped tightly and shaken repeatedly.
Wakitani
That's why we had cases where there would be temporary disconnection of Wii MotionPlus during use.
Iwata
So the accessory would disconnect from the Wii Remote just for a brief instant?
Wakitani
That's right. So at that point we looked to investigate further by trying to reproduce this temporary disconnection by twisting and turning Wii MotionPlus. But it wasn't something we could do by only twisting it slightly.
Takamoto
Without shaking the Wii Remote tens of thousands of times, this temporary disconnection wouldn't reoccur.
Iwata
But you weren't really going to shake it thousands of times to test this, were you? (laughs)
Takamoto
Well, at the start I gave it a go, but after a while the skin on the palm of my hand felt like it was peeling away.
Wakitani
And that's when the gloves went on.
Iwata
You really went that far? (laughs)
Wakitani
But doing it that way would have been far too time-consuming. So it was at that point that we decided to borrow storefront display models for Pokémotion4. (laughter)
Takamoto
That's the shore display where the Pokémotion is swung like a metronome.
Iwata
Ah yes, I remember that.
Wakitani
We scraped together all the models we could, from our Okayama office and various departments within the company, and then used them to carry out tests.
Iwata
It's lucky there were still so many left! (laughs)
Humidity wrote:Iwata
Could you explain a bit more about the gyro sensor's casing?
Ito
This is the material that contains the gyro sensor. Although it was made from a plastic epoxy resin, if it absorbed so much as a tiny amount of water, it would swell up and put pressure on the sensor which would prevent it from functioning properly.
Iwata
Plastic products should be completely free from moisture, shouldn't they?
Ito
That's right. It's the same as when you deep fry food with a high water content and it bursts open. If even a little water gets into the casing, when it's soldered, the sensor can split. In order to prevent that, you have to ensure that when it's being manufactured, it is in a completely dry environment. But even if you do that, it's inevitable that when players use it, it will absorb some moisture. Even the epoxy resin will expand if it absorbs any moisture.
Takamoto
At the start we tried various ways of ensuring that moisture couldn't get in, such as using a coating.
Iwata
And even then, moisture got in.
Takamoto
Whatever we did, moisture would get in.
Iwata
How did you manage to solve this tricky issue?
Ito
We made it absorb moisture right from the start, but in a controlled and efficient manner.
Iwata
So if it's going to absorb moisture anyway, you might as well let it absorb it right from the start! (laughs)
Ito
So we boiled the entire circuit board.
Iwata
You boiled it? You're telling me you really tried that?
Everyone
(laughs)
Iwata
Circuit boards aren't normally something you boil, you know! (laughs)
Takamoto
There are ways to get plastic to absorb moisture so that it becomes stable. One of those ways is to boil it.
Iwata
Well I never…!
Ito
So we went and bought a pressure cooker…
Iwata
A pressure cooker?
Ito
Er… And we put it on expenses. Sorry about that!
Everyone
(laughs)
Source
I really like hardware development interviews more than software ones.
Hypnotically inclined.
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